Desperate People in the City. Shanghai and the Phenomenon of Migration

The 'Wai-di-ren', the migrant workers of which there are five million in Shanghai alone, are not least among those to whom China's soaring megacities owe thanks for their palaces made of glass and steel. For 30 to 100 Euros a month, they cook, wash, clean, repair, and build. The jobs they do are called '3-d jobs' – dirty, dangerous, and demanding. When the migration to the cities began in 1989, the People's Republic of China saw itself confronted with its greatest social challenge ever: Adding to the already-large army of migrants who have no permanent home, 200 million of so-called vagrants go on moving from place to place, working for a meagre wage which has to feed the entire family. Social distortions are increasing; the income gap is widening.